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Help! Blew out my amp, need a new one.

VP- I would suggest you try out some Gallien Krueger gear. I had an 800 RB for a good 12 years (got it while in high school and had it into my mid-late 20s). It was a total work horse!! Yeah, it was solid state, but it had lots of power and tone, and punch, just need to get the eq dialled in for your sound. Another great aspect is that it was very affordable. It is a fantastic studio amp as well. If you want something with a decent solid state sound, and with a very affordable price, give this a shot. I haven't had much experience with SWR other than some headaches with the shortlived ownership of a Red Head. Blown speakers and amp had me unload it quickly. That was just my experience though, I know the working man line has some fans out there.

I would also suggest checking out Mesa if you can find something in your price range.
 
Another manufacturer that you might want to consider for your budget is Peavey. I am not too familiar with what they have out now, but I had a Combo 300 (1x15, 210W RMS) for a long time that sounded good. It was big, heavy and built like a tank. In my experience, Peavey amps are good bang for the buck.
 
so upon further research of swr.. i found that they are too delicate and break like nothing. sooo gallien -kreuger or ampeg seem to be the workhorses with the easiest ability to add a nice extra cab or head to.
 
a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away.. i had an swr workingmans 15. it was a wonderful amp. I purchased it for $160 used from a local stores annual clearing house sale and used it blissfully until i deluded myself into thinking more speakers was better. I upgraded to an SWR SM-500 Head and Goliath III 4x10 and tried to convince myself for years that this was a good sounding amp combo... It probably was for somebody.... but not for me. In my time on this planet, i have gone through slap/funk phase, and pop phase, and all kinds of tone phase. I have had the biggest tube amps that were easily available, and got great tone. And honestly... the only amp i really need. is the MesaBoogie Walkabout Scout. THey can be found used easily for @ $800 usually with years worth of transferable warrenty.. and it will be the only amp you need to buy for years for any kind of situation.
 
The problem im finding is that i have no cab to go with the AMAZING heads you guys are showing me! if i could find a nice cab or simple combo to get beforehand, then that might be good, but im currently looking into combos such as the gallien-krueger mb-115, which seems to get all the praise in the world for its build.
 
I have a behringer BXL 1800 combo that will keep up with any drummer and it puts out a decent tone with many features. Used, it was $150 You would have extra money to buy a musicman sub bass.
 
So why don't you just get the SWR fixed? $700 goes a long, long way, and most amp failures aren't that terribly expensive to repair . . . Heck, at least have it looked at to give you an idea of cost. You liked it, right? So why change if you don't have to . . .

- Tim
 
tadawson said:
So why don't you just get the SWR fixed? $700 goes a long, long way, and most amp failures aren't that terribly expensive to repair . . . Heck, at least have it looked at to give you an idea of cost. You liked it, right? So why change if you don't have to . . .

- Tim
Click to expand...

I talked to the guy who gave it to me (got it for free from my sisters boyfriend, suckups are the best XD ) he told me that he had to repair and rewire the kid at least twice, and that swr are too delicate to put money into unless you decide to get the high-end boutique stuff, so i went to guitar center and daddy's junky music, and tried out the acoustics, ampegs, and G-Ks there. (this was yesterday) after many fine pickings of each i think i decided that G-K have done it right. closest thing to the crisp SWR sound and only 33lbs! has the same power in bass as the acoustic does at 6 when the G-K is at 3, and the ampeg has too "Passive" of a sound to me. not making final decision till friday, still open to suggestions, these are just my findings as of now.
 
Buy the biggest combo you can afford with your budget. GK MB212. 500 watts. You won't need a new amp until it breaks. Buy it online to save a few bucks.
 
For little money you could find a used Little Mark II. Since I play one I never thought about getting another amp.

We could also discuss tube heads or cabs.. for example old Fender Bassmann heads or Sunn.. or even Ampeg heads.. but all the players I know using them have repair needs or tube changing needs to often. I have not so much time to invest for keeping an amp going.. I want to play, no stress. The Little Mark gives me a good sound (the two filter knobs are superior), light weight and a secure feeling while playing.

jm2c
 
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